Chef's Profile:

Paul Mattison—a high-energy man on the move

 By Bonnie Boots

 Paul Mattison is more than just a man about town. He’s a man about two or three towns, with restaurants in both St. Petersburg and Sarasota, a busy schedule of food and wine tours to Tuscany and Vermont, and a calendar filled with public appearances at events ranging from Taste of the Nation to Taste of Pinellas. Ask Chef Mattison where he hangs his hat and he laughs. “I don’t so much hang my hat as try to keep it from blowing off my head!

The chef may joke about living in his car, but it’s clear from the twinkle in his eye that he loves his busy schedule and the places it takes him. His dual passions, for cooking and for people, propel him out of the kitchen and in front of the crowds, filling folks with both his food and his enthusiasm for culinary adventure. “Our greatest challenge today, as chefs, is that we’re faced with an audience of young adults that grew up on chain restaurants. They have a real curiosity about fine food and wine, but often they have to be lured into exploring it.  I spend a tremendous amount of my time out in the community, doing wine tastings and cooking classes for charity. I find that people are far more open to trying something new when it’s presented in the fun, casual atmosphere of a class or a tasting. Take out the fear factor, then introduce them to food that’s fabulous—that’s the key to moving these young adults up from steak and pizza and into fine dining.”

Mattison’s high energy and enthusiasm, coupled with boyish good looks, make him a natural and popular “eatertainer.” No doubt he’s a competent executive chef. Catch him in the kitchen with a question about portion sizes or loss control and he answers quickly, professionally but perfunctorily. But catch him at a cooking show demonstrating how to roast a turkey or poach a salmon and a transformation takes place. His eyes darken, his skin glows, he leans forward and focuses on the audience with a joy and intensity that’s infectious.  He loves food, he loves flavor and he loves getting people as excited about the whole affair as he is himself.

 Mattison favors Mediterranean cuisine, and encourages people to eat the foods of Italy, Spain and Greece for the health benefits as well as the flavors. “The Mediterranean table focuses on fresh, seasonal foods, plenty of fruits and vegetables, more seafood than beef and olive oil rather than butter. It’s the healthiest cuisine in the world” he says “and it tastes wonderful. Besides, it’s what my grandmother taught me!”

 Mattison says his passion for preparing and sharing delicious food was instilled in him at an early age by his Grandmother. ‘She was a typical Italian grandmother” he says with a grin. “Her world centered around food and family. Helping her in the kitchen, participating in her joy for cooking and feeding people, seeing the love that flowed to her from people she fed, all put me on the path to being a chef.”

 Mattison graduated with honors from the Culinary Institute of America, then spent his externship in California’s Santa Ynez Valley at The Grand Hotel Remington’s French Inn. After graduating in 1987, he took a position as Executive Sous Chef at Pinons in Aspen, Colorado. By 1991, he was Executive Chef of at the Summerhouse Restaurant in Sarasota, Florida where he won numerous awards and was recognized as one of the outstanding chefs in the area.

Today, Mattison is Executive Chef/partner in Mattison’s American Bistro in St. Petersburg and Mattison’s City Grille in Sarasota. In addition to a varied schedule of cooking classes and public appearances, he leads regularly scheduled cooking tours to Tuscany, the land of his grandmother, and to Vermont, where he partners with sculptor Jack Dowd in week-long food/wine/art retreats. He has been a key organizer of Taste of the Nation for many years, served on the boards of several charities and helped raise millions of dollars for numerous community organizations.

 No doubt Mattison is blessed with an abundance of natural energy, but he claims the power to propel his busy lifestyle springs from the emotional charge he gets by engaging people, one on one, drawing them into the kitchen and into the lessons he learned from his grandmother: that life is about people, and that real joy comes from respecting them enough to feed them your best. “My grandmother taught me about life by teaching me about food” Mattison says. “Whenever she trimmed an artichoke, she’d always say, “People are like this artichoke. A tender heart is hiding under every tough exterior. You might have to peel away many layers, but if you do it carefully, and with respect, you’ll always find it.” I still hear her voice every time I enter a kitchen.” says the chef. “ I still learn her lessons every time I cook.”

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 This interview with  Executive Chef Paul Mattison appeared in Restaurant Forum Magazine is covered by their copyright. Please contact them for permission regarding this text.

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